HC rejects appeal of 2 BSF personnel in rape case

The Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal of two BSF personnel, who were sentenced to seven years imprisonment and dismissed from service by a
security force court in 1996 for raping a deaf and dumb girl during duty hours.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal of two BSF personnel, who were sentenced to seven years imprisonment and dismissed from service by a
security force court in 1996 for raping a deaf and dumb girl during duty hours.

A division bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Sunil Gaur dismissed the appeal against the conviction filed by constables Bhushan Singh and Avtar Singh, posted at Ramnagar on the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal when the incident
took place in October 1992.

The high court also ordered them to surrender before an appropriate authority while cancelling their bail bonds.

Relying upon the statement of the prosecutrix, the bench said, "She was in miserable condition and her clothes were found torn at the time when he (her brother) found her...the petitioners were also found quarrelling with the brother of
the prosecutrix next day after the incident which is strongly indicative of the guilt of the petitioners."

Acting on a complaint lodged by the victim`s brother on October 20, 1992, the General Security Force Court (GSFC) had convicted the two personnel and awarded a three years rigorous imprisonment to them in September 1996.

Later, the GFSC revised the previous sentence and awarded seven years rigorous imprisonment to the convicts and their dismissal from the service in October 1996.

Aggrieved with the GSFC order, the convicts had approached the Delhi High Court.